A small, despairing smile curled his mouth. "Because I want you to know everything I am… and accept me regardless. My feelings for you have gone far past mere friendly accord. In fact, these are feelings I haven't had for anyone in a very long time. I want you in my life, Isabella, so I'm telling you what that life consists of. Whether you choose to be a part of it is up to you."
Isa glanced down, oddly enough, at her hand. She'd felt no revulsion when it had been pressed to Chance's skin. Yes, he was cooler than she was, but how important was temperature, really? Was it enough to risk the first true tug on her heart she'd experienced? Okay, Chance was a vampire, and that was undeniably a large relationship hurdle. But did it mean she shouldn't even try? Was she going to always run from people because of the pain she'd felt when those closest to her, her parents, had been taken away? Wasn't it time she risked getting hurt again, instead of just accepting the numbness of never letting anyone in? If she kept going on like that, then the real dead person in the room was her, not Chance.
Well, not anymore, Isa thought, and stepped toward him.
Chapter 10
Chance watched her approach. He didn't move, because he was afraid the slightest unexpected motion from him would stop her. She paused when she was a foot away, reaching out to slide her hand around his neck, and then pulled him down to her.
Chance closed the space between them, wrapping his arms around her and—at last—covering her mouth with his. Her lips were soft and she parted them at once, letting his tongue penetrate into the warm sweetness of her mouth.
She tasted like whiskey and honey, so intoxicating, and Chance inhaled through his nose to absorb the waves of desire coming from her. Her heartbeat was a rapid vibration against his chest, the race of blood through her veins like singing, and Chance moaned as he pressed her closer. I need you, he thought with a surge of lust so strong, it made his hands itch to tear her clothes from her body. Give yourself to me.
Chance didn't dare utter the words aloud, let alone open his eyes to look at Isa. This was where the power of vampiric mind control could cross unintended lines. With how aroused Chance was, there was no controlling the light in his gaze that would take Isa's decision away from her. He wanted her, yes, so badly—but never enough to steal what should only be given.
Isa's fingers curled into his hair as her head fell back. Chance followed the motion, letting his lips slide to her neck. Her pulse pounded so strongly against his mouth, it seemed to be begging him to bite it. Chance licked it instead, swirling his tongue around the throbbing apex and hearing Isa moan with pleasure.
He wanted to hear her moan again, but louder, and while he was licking a different part of her. The thought of her scent surrounding him while he filled his mouth with her juices made his blood nearly scream to travel elsewhere. Chance let it, directing the flow, feeling himself thicken and harden as it flooded his cock. Isa must have felt it too, because she pressed herself there in a long slow rub that almost ripped Chance's control away entirely.
He'd grasped her hips and ground himself against her before he could form another thought. Isa let out a strangled noise, then her hand was ripping at his shirt while the other one tangled in his hair.
"Chance," she gasped. "I want you."
A blaze of exultation made his words choppy. "Not here. Come."
Chance picked Isa up and went swiftly to the guest room, not knowing or caring if Greta would object. Once there, he kicked the door closed and rent Isa's shirt from her with one hard tug. Her pants met the same fate, as did his clothes, until at last his bare skin pressed against hers. She blinked at the speed of his actions, but Chance didn't give her an opportunity to be bashful. He dropped to his knees, pulling her underwear down with him, and buried his mouth between her legs.
Her whole body shuddered. She would have fallen, but Chance gripped her thighs and held her as he took long, greedy licks into her wet hot depths. Her nails dug into his shoulders while gasping cries reached him above the pounding of her artery, so deliciously close to his mouth. She tasted salty and sweet, not unlike blood. The deeper Chance penetrated his tongue inside her, the more Isa shuddered against his mouth, until her cries became sobs of ecstasy. Chance licked her harder, faster, glorying in the rich scent of her lust and the fiery wetness slicking his mouth.
She ceased clawing at his shoulders to push on them instead.
"Now, Chance, now. Fuck me."
Something primal flared in him hearing Isa say that word for the first time. In response, he lifted her up and set her on the side of the bed, his tongue still thrashing deep within her.
A groan that ended in a roar came from her. "Damn it, for once, do as I say!" And she yanked at his head hard enough to pull out a clump of hair.